New In The Wall Street Journal: The Father Gordon MacRae Case

Editors Note: In a major development in the case of wrongly imprisoned priest, Father Gordon MacRae, the nations largest newspaper has once again taken up this story. Dorothy Rabinowitz, a pulitzer prize winning journalist on The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, published a riveting article on the Father MacRae case on May 11/12, 2013 entitled, “The Trials of Father MacRae.”

Dorothy Rabinowitz analyzed Father MacRae’s 1994 trial as well as the issues and newer evidence in the current appeal effort now underway. Her article also presents due process concerns for both the Church and the justice system. Her interview video is a must watch!

This is an important story, not only for Father Gordon MacRae and the readers of These Stone Walls, but for all falsely accused priests. We invite These Stone Walls readers to

About Fr. Gordon J. MacRae

The late Cardinal Avery Dulles and The Rev. Richard John Neuhaus encouraged Father MacRae to write. Cardinal Dulles wrote in 2005: “Someday your story and that of your fellow sufferers will come to light and will be instrumental in a reform. Your writing, which is clear, eloquent, and spiritually sound will be a monument to your trials.” READ MORE

Comments

Fr. MacRae, please know that we are praying for you and that Our Most Blessed Mother is praying for you. Our Blessed Mother under the title of Our Lady of Good Success specifically asked all to pray for the clergy because the enemy will try his best to destroy you during this time. But she has asked everyone to pray for the clergy and religious who are suffering. And so we pray…

Dear Fr. MacRae: I have just come back from British Columbia where my husband and I were visiting, for the first time, a recently ordained priest, whom we sponsored, from a very poor part of India. What a wonderful holy priest; His parishionser thanked us for, “giving him to them”. I had never thought of what we did, quite like that.

Fr. MacRae came to mind, as we attended oure very first Mass celebrated by Fr. Dass, whom we sponsored.

I circulate Fr. MacRae’s articles to members of the Catholic Women’s League, and anyone else who is interested in justice. They are all praying for him, and for Pronchai. Fr. MacRae’s sufferings and wrongful imprisonment resulted in young Pornchai as he is today.

Dear Fr. MacRae,
Please count me (here in WA State) as one of your virtual parishioners. I pray for you each day and beg Our Lord during my hour of Adoration to please, please release you so that you are able to say Mass every day and administer the other Sacraments which are SO needed out here in the midst of so much danger. Thank you Father for being such a supreme example of what a follow of Christ should be. God bless you always.

Dear Fr. Mac Rae,
Like those who comment above, I also pray for your release. I cannot imagine what more it will take to convince those in the NH justice system to do the right thing. I also pray that you receive support from Bishop Libasci and the priests of the NH diocese. Hopefully this travesty will come to a swift end and you will be vindicated!

At long last, Ms. Rabinowitz’s heroic persistence and courage have developed the impact we have all been praying for. It’s hard to see how the circumstances she reports cannot combine with the new evidence to help secure my friend Gordon’s long overdue release from the outrage he has so patiently and inspirationally endured. Soon I hope he can get on with his life– and I gratuitously assign him the tasks of organizing, editing, and publishing a collection of all these magnificently thoughtful and wise and beautifully written essays from behind stone walls. The world needs them.

Speaking as a former colleague of Fr. MacRae in ministry for five years just period justprior to his sentencing, I believe, humanly speaking, that his excessively long, cruel and apparently unfair imprisonment has deprived us of a dedicated and effective instrument in the work of God’s mercy. .

Yes, Fr. Lechner, that may be true as you say, naturally speaking, and I suppose that was the evil one’s intent; however, looking at it supernaturally it’s SO beautiful to see how God has worked through Fr. MacRae. He and his priesthood have been such a gift to so many of us both inside and outside of the prison walls. Today for example, Mother’s Day, I woke up and found myself praying for the (former) prisoner, Skooter, that Fr. MacRae has written about a few times on These Stone Walls. I believe Skooter is no longer there, but Father’s posts about him have touched me so much!

Not only has Father done amazing things for many of the prisoners, he has helped many of us that are outside of the prison with his stories and with his beautiful words. It is hard to believe that a priest in prison, with no access to the internet, has joined us all together like Fr. MacRae has. (Thanks in a large way to those many people who help him with this website) It is a great example of God working out our lives in so much more of a beautiful way that we could ever plan for ourselves. I love how our Faith binds us altogether. The Communion of Saints is such a mysteriously wonderful thing.

Fr. MacRae’s imprisonment has definitely been an unbelievably horrible miscarriage of justice on so many levels and in so many ways. I hope and pray that he will be out very soon. (Please, God!) However, God has surely given us many blessings out of Father MacRae’s terrible sufferings. I am so happy that Father has hung in there for all of these years. May God reward him.

Now we can all fight together the horrible injustice of falsely accused priests!

Father, I hope that things turn out well and you will be release soon. I will continue to pray for you and waiting for the day that you would walk as a free man. Prayers always from my family here in Malaysia

Having read the case details and if this man has been falsely accused of a crime which he did not commit, I very much hope that justice will be done and this poor man is released. How awful that this man should have spent so long in a prison cell, when he is innocent. My prayers will be for his early release from detention and I shall keep praying until his name is cleared. God be with him.

Fr MacRae, I really hope this article helps move things along on your case, and for other falsely accused priests, who have not had their day in court with an unbiased judge and jury. We all have the right to be judged innocent until proven, beyond a doubt, to be guilty. Praying for you and all priests. God love you.
Claire

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